A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday.
It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said.
The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Friday last week, Tien said.
Photo: CNA
A Chinese foreign ministry statement after the meeting said that “Singapore fully understands the Chinese government’s position on the Taiwan question, opposes any form of Taiwan independence, and firmly abides by the one China principle.”
However, a separate statement issued by the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the meeting said that “Singapore has a clear and consistent one China policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence.”
The difference between the two statements and Beijing replacing the phrase “one China policy” with “one China principle” was further proof of the PRC’s “disinformation warfare,” Tien said.
Earlier, lawmakers at a legislative session asked why Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement on Saturday last week criticizing Beijing’s statement on the Xi-Wong meeting.
China’s statement concerning Taiwan was “unmistakably false,” the MOFA said.
Chang Ching (張競), a retired navy captain and a Taipei-based research fellow with the Society for Strategic Studies, ROC think tank, accused the MOFA of mischaracterizing the Singapore statement.
Singapore wrote that it followed “one China” and “opposed Taiwan independence,” Chang said, prompting lawmakers’ questions.
“The one China principle” is the position held by the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legitimate government of that China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of that China.
Some countries that have diplomatic ties with the PRC have their own versions of a “one China” policy instead of following Beijing’s “one China principle.”
The “policies” generally do not overtly accept that Taiwan is a part of China, as is the case with the “principle.”
For example, the US says its “one China” policy is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances.”
“We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means. We continue to have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the US Department of State says on its Web site.
Singapore’s cross-strait policy is similar to that of the US, with Singapore’s leaders saying that the city-state maintains a “one China” policy and opposes Taiwanese independence.
It has ambiguous wording to describe its policy, except for a joint statement released by Singapore and the PRC in April 2000.
“Singapore recognizes that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China. The government of the Republic of Singapore recognizes the government of the People’s Republic of China,” the statement said.
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